1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to charging devices and charging structures for charging secondary batteries installed in a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Vehicles that are driven using an electric motor include electric vehicles (EV) that employ only an electric motor as a drive source and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) having both an electric motor and an engine as drive sources. An in-vehicle battery (secondary battery) is installed in both types of vehicle to supply power to the electric motor, and when a state of charge of the in-vehicle battery decreases, the in-vehicle battery must be charged using a household commercial power supply or a charging device provided at a rapid charging station. Note that in a hybrid vehicle, the in-vehicle battery is normally charged by driving the engine, but depending on the state of charge of the in-vehicle battery, the in-vehicle battery may be charged using a charging device or the like rather than by driving the engine.
As vehicles having an electric motor become more widespread, the number of rapid charging stations at which the in-vehicle battery can be partially charged quickly while on the road has increased. With a rapid charging station, in contrast to a gas filling station, there is no need to bury storage tanks underground, manage gasoline storage amounts, and so on, and therefore a rapid charging station can be installed in a small space and at a low cost. On the other hand, when a charging device is annexed to an outdoor parking lot, for example, it is often exposed to wind, rain, and so on, and therefore the charging device is preferably provided with a structure that exhibits superior weather resistance.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 1999-122714 (FIG. 1) describes charging device of this type. The charging device described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 1999-122714 (FIG. 1) includes a pole and a charging connector, between which a cable is provided. The charging connector is housed in a connector housing portion formed on a side portion of the pole such that a tip end side of the charging connector is oriented downward. Thus; rainwater or the like adhered to the charging connector is caused to drip into the connector housing portion, from which the rainwater or the like can be discharged to the outside through a drainage hole in the connector housing portion. By attaching the charging connector to the connector housing portion in this manner, rainwater or the like adhered to the charging connector is caused to drip down, thereby preventing problems such as short-circuits from occurring while the charging device is in use.
However, when the charging device described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 1999-122714 (FIG. 1) is used in an outdoor location without a roof or the like, the following problem may occur: when the charging connector is detached from the pole and moved to a vehicle on a rainy day or the like, the charging connector becomes wet unless an operator uses an umbrella or the like. If charging is performed after the rainwater or the like has infiltrated the charging connector, an insulating property of a plug provided inside the charging connector may deteriorate, increasing the likelihood of a short-circuit, interruption of a charging function of the charging device due to the short-circuit (activation of a safety device), and so on. Therefore, to ensure that charging can be performed comfortably even on a rainy day or the like, a charging device having improved waterproofing reliability (weather resistance) must be investigated anew.